Ideas to Push Your Foreign Language Learning to the Next Level

Tips from a former foreign language teacher for pushing through when you’ve hit a learning slump.

Push Your Foreign Language Learning to the Next Level

If you’re learning a foreign language but feel like you’ve hit a wall and aren’t progressing as quickly as you’d like. Don’t worry. All language learners experience these slumps. There are many ways to push through them and continue towards your goal of foreign language fluency.

Recognize the Plateau

Learning a language isn’t a straight path. Some believe learning a foreign language is like climbing a giant staircase up the side of a mountain. It’s a straight path, challenging at times, and your pace may vary, but always headed in the same direction, to the mountain peak, fluency.

Truthfully, language learning is like climbing a mountain. Unfortunately, though, very few mountains include staircases to the top. Instead, they require you to trek a winding path upward. Like mountain climbing, the path to fluency isn’t typically straight. It can be a slow, winding path. And at times, it can feel like you aren’t making progress toward your goal at all. This is known as a plateau.

When learning a foreign language, you’ll encounter many plateaus. Points when you’ve learned a great deal, but suddenly, your progress stagnates. When you hit a plateau, the first step is recognizing it, which you’ve done. Congratulations!

The next step is to re-energize and persevere. Kick-starting, you’re learning and moving toward the next level of fluency. Use these tips to break out of your slump and resume your progress toward your fluency goal.

Identify Your Fluency Goal

Being “fluent” in a foreign language doesn’t necessarily mean reaching the level of a native speaker. In fact, there is more than one type of “fluent.” Perhaps you want to be fluent enough to travel. Or reach a level of fluency that enables you to take your career to the next level. Some want to achieve a fluency level that allows them to understand and enjoy books, movies, or music in the language. Others want to communicate easily with friends, family, colleagues, or neighbors who speak the language.

Whatever your fluency goal, you’ll first need to identify it so you’ll recognize when you’ve achieved it. Identifying your goal will also help you decide which areas to focus on as you learn. Consider these questions in relation to your goal:

• What vocabulary will you need to know to reach your goal?
• Will your communications be mostly informal or formal?
• Which manners of communication will you need to master: reading, writing, speaking, or listening?

Answering these questions will help you focus your learning and reach your fluency goal faster. If your goal is to become indistinguishable from a native speaker, that’s great! But it’s also a lofty goal that may take many years to achieve. Consider choosing smaller, more achievable fluency goals to mark your progress and direct your learning along the way.

Read

Reading in the language you’re studying is a great way to build fluency and can be done at any level. Don’t be embarrassed if you have to start with simple children’s books or leveled readers. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Reading is a great way to learn at your own pace since it allows you to stop and look things up as often as necessary. You’ll also expand your vocabulary by discovering new words. It’s also a great way to get a feel for sentence structure and dialogue. Additionally, if your reading material is from a country where the language is spoken, you’ll also learn about their culture and customs.

Choose reading material that is interesting to you and a bit above your current ability level. However, don’t choose readings far above your current level of understanding. This can actually hinder your progress, causing you to become frustrated and demotivated.
Some reading materials to consider are:

• Online News articles — These are typically written for the masses. Meaning they use clear, accessible language.
• Online Blogs and Magazine Articles — These allow you to read about topics of interest to you, encouraging you to continue reading.
• Books Written for Children and Young Adults — These books are excellent learning tools because they use simple language and grammar and often include photos and illustrations, which help you check your understanding and follow along with the plot. Additionally, they can be surprisingly interesting and enjoyable reads.
• Short Stories — Besides being interesting. They’re motivating since you’ll be able to finish an entire story quickly, making them less intimidating than novels.
• Poems and Song Lyrics — These can sometimes be grammatically challenging. However, they’re usually short and include interesting, unusual vocabulary, phrases, and slang.
• Novels — Novels can be a bit daunting. They require time and commitment. Consider starting with a novel you’ve already read and enjoyed in your first language. Then, move on to books written originally in the target language. Modern novels are usually easier and more useful as learning tools since they use current language and references.

When reading, it is essential to read actively. Underline words you don’t recognize, then look them up when you finish a paragraph or page. Write definitions in the margins or keep a list of the new words to reference later. Re-read sections until you’re sure you’ve understood them. But don’t get bogged down in the details. Sometimes, understanding the gist of a piece of writing is more important than knowing it was written in the third person plural subjunctive.

Take in Movies, TV, and Music

The internet has given learners more resources than ever for taking in foreign language media. Some resources for practicing listening through media include:

• Movie and TV Streaming Services (Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, etc.)
• Music Streaming Services (Pandora, Prime Music, iHeart radio, etc.)
• YouTube
• News Websites that include video reports
• Live-streaming Sites like Twitch

When watching TV and Movies, subtitles are your friends. Start by using subtitles in your first language. You will still learn by hearing the pronunciation. And you’ll begin recognizing words and phrases. When you’re ready for a bit more challenge, switch the subtitles to the target language. Seeing the language written out can be beneficial, especially if the actors or narrator have a strong regional accent. You can even watch shows you enjoy in your native language with subtitles in the foreign language to help you learn new words and phrases.

Listening casually to music in the target language can improve your learning. Even if you don’t understand most of what you hear, as you listen more frequently, you’ll find you recognize more and more of the words and phrases in the lyrics. You can also try choosing a song you enjoy and looking up the lyrics. Identify and look up words and phrases you don’t know. As a bonus, you can sing along to practice pronunciation.

Practice with Native Speakers

Practicing with a native speaker is intimidating but highly beneficial for learning faster. Feeling the pressure to communicate effectively and be perceived as intelligent helps you to learn and retain information more effectively.

Speaking with someone you know and are comfortable practicing with is great. However, if you don’t know anyone who speaks the language, try searching online. Online gaming communities and chatrooms dedicated to communicating in a particular language can be an excellent, low-pressure environment to practice. Virtual Reality is another great new tool for language learners. Many VR social apps can be used to practice speaking and listening skills with native speakers from around the world.

An added benefit of speaking to strangers online is that you won’t feel as intimidated as talking to someone face-to-face. They don’t know you, so if you make mistakes or sound silly, no problem. Alternatively, if you do find someone helpful and patient, you can connect with them regularly to continue practicing.

The key to learning through communicating is to overcome your nerves and continue speaking in the target language, no matter what. Children make excellent practice partners. If you ever get the opportunity to practice speaking with a child, seize it. You won’t be nervous because you’re an adult and they’re just a child. And children have no problem telling you they don’t understand you or you said something wrong. Adults try to be diplomatic and kind, but children are just honest. They also come up with fascinating topics of conversation.

Tip: Utilize circumlocution. Circumlocution is a term for describing the word you can’t remember or don’t know. For example, if you can’t remember the word “pencil,” try describing one in the target language instead: “A thing used for writing. You use it on paper, but it’s not a pen. It’s made of wood.” Typically, this method gets your meaning across, and the person you’re speaking to will tell you the word you didn’t know.

Travel

This isn’t an option for everyone, but if you can travel to a country where a foreign language is spoken, take the opportunity even if you don’t feel quite ready. Immersing yourself in the language is a proven way to turbocharge your language learning.

You’ll quickly learn common words and phrases needed to get around, such as greetings, asking for directions to the bathroom, and the price of goods in stores. You’ll also learn much more than expected if you’re observant. Go to a grocery store to check out the signage and names of items. Read street signs and advertisements. Examine menus, including names of dishes, categories, ingredients, and pricing.

You’ll learn much faster through first-hand experience than you can from traditional learning resources like books and apps.

Don’t Let Your Ego and Inhibitions Stand in Your Way

Many language learners stagnate in their learning because they’re too shy, nervous, or self-conscious to take the next step. The reason children learn their first language and even multiple languages so quickly and easily is because they have no shame when it comes to making mistakes. They communicate to be understood, paying little attention to speaking perfectly or being perceived as intelligent.

The best way to reach your fluency goals is to practice like a child, uninhibited and unashamed of your mistakes. Be open to feedback, corrections, and criticism. Don’t see these as negative or shameful. Instead, view them as essential and valuable tools for recognizing areas for improvement, focusing your learning, and reaching your fluency goal quickly.

Learning a foreign language is both challenging and rewarding. Many become disheartened when they reach a plateau in their progress and give up instead of pushing on. However, by utilizing these tips, you can persevere, continue making progress, and achieve your fluency goals.